Also, I'm in the PNW where ravens are the size of dogs. I have a nesting pair right now probably feeding their chicks. So far they haven't bothered the birds.
The hens free range all day on about four acres. They lay in different places but mostly in their coop which is a secure shed. They get locked up at night and let out in the morning. The egg were being stolen the daytime.
BUT I’ve solved the mystery. Someone witnessed the thievery. It was...
So I had a big hatch of muscovies about 2 weeks ago. I put the straggler eggs in the incubator in case they wanted to hatch and lo and behold, they did! Except the second to last one hatched about 5 days ago and I was able to successfully stick it under the mama duck at night nbd.
The last...
I have never had this happen before.
I have about 15 hens, all laying regularly. Today and yesterday I only got two eggs. I thought they were hiding them somewhere and I hadn't found their new nest but today I came to check and the 14 eggs one of my hens had been sitting on all week were gone...
Ah that might be a possibility, thanks.
This morning the cold babies appear to be ok, they are under a mother and alive and well (I'm surprised, I didn't think they'd make it) and at least one more has hatched ok. So I'll leave them for now.
The co-brooding thing is interesting. I'll be a...
I have three muscovies sitting on a bunch of eggs sister-wife style. I posted yesterday that I accidentally disturbed the nest last night and ended up with a duckling that hatched and I put him in a brooder but he died :(
The ducks are in a dog house with a hinged door that I shut every...
Ah, the duckling died. I'm not sure what happened, maybe he wasn't quite ready to come out. Sad. i hope the rest are ok and I haven't screwed any more up :(
OOPS!
I have three muscovies that have been sitting on a huge batch of eggs since mid april. I had given them what I thought (based on my count) was more than enough time to hatch any out if they were going to and went tonight to take the eggs away, The ducks are about a year old and have...
My muscovies finally figured out that it was fun outside their pen. I also saw them mating this morning so maybe I will get eggs soon (they are young, I wasn't sure if they were sexually mature yet). Anywhere, here are some pictures as requested. They are cautiously inquisitive and my rooster...
So I've had four young muscovies for a week now. They came from a place where they'd been completely unhandled and penned up in a really small area with smelly, deep, soaked wet bedding and no area at all to forage in. I wouldn't be surprised if they'd never been out of their pen before.
A...